An excellent game system. Narrative focused with a little crunch, this is the first Powered by the Apocalypse game that I felt a connection to. I wasn't really able to grok PtbA before, but this version really showed me what everyione has been so excited. about. The seeting and genre are also fantastic, along with the ability to truly represent the gamut of super heroics, from galactic powerhouse to nd all on the same team without it feeling like anyone is overpowered or underpowered. Very excellent game design.

Masks, A New Generation is a Powered by Apocolypse game that really stands on its own. Below are certain aspects I really enjoyed.

Fluidity of Playbooks
Masks allows players to build their hero based off templates called playbooks. These playbooks are vague within set archetypes, allowing the creation of characters that can vary wildly in powers and backstory, but still fit within an identity that defines them. Whether you'd like to be the average Joe who's keeping up with powerhouses, or the strained teen trying to keep their normal life and heroic life seperate, you've got a great selection to choose from.

Character Failure = Leveling Up
There isn't really a way to "Power game" in Masks, or at least not one that doesn't seem fake. The only way to advance in your power, options, abilities is to fail. For each failure, you tally up until you get to five and then you grow as a character. There's no way around it. It's brilliant really. Imagine a teen superhero that always gets the bad guy, never let's down the hostages, always comes through to save the day. Wouldn't that be boring? Why would that character need to change? By tying failure to growth, even the more most powerful of heroes will be humbled.

Relationships and Influence
Another major mechanic of the system is its emphasis on how relationships with adults and other people mold a character's identity. People who you care about, whether for good or bad reasons, will have an impact on you with their words. Believing you're a dark loner will change if the defender of the city takes time to tell you, "You're one heck of a hero." By embracing and rejecting changes, it adds an extra layer of fun and complexity as the players try and figure out "Who is this character?"

This is great game for groups looking to experience the entire teen hero life, and perhaps have some really emotional moments as well if they get invested in the lives of their characters.

I have never seen an RPG push a political agenda as hard as Urban Shadows. Oh, there have been hints of political agenda in other RPGs, but whatever, that never stopped me before. Urban Shadows takes all of those other RPGs combined and doubles down, hard. And the thing is, I consider myself a liberal, so you’d think it would jive with me. But nobody likes being preached to, especially when it’s so thinly veiled in the case of US. Seriously, I am embarrassed to show this RPG off to other people, both veterans and novices to RPGs, because a lot of the wordage makes US come across as less of a game and more of a political manifesto. As it stands, I’ve been directing players to just ignore any and all advice and fluff sections and focus entirely on how to make rolls.

I like the core idea of US – a modern urban fantasy setting. I don’t like what US turns my gaming hobby into, that being a vehicle for a specific political agenda, even if it’s one that I might agree with. Because of that, I can’t recommend this game.

Enjoyed this expansion overall. I feel like the playbooks aren't quite what I was looking for, though. A couple of them seemed a little too similar to Apocalypse World playbooks and I didn't feel like the factions most of them are associated with fit my perception of them. This isn't to say that I hated them, or anything. I thought there were some great ideas in there. I just feel like they might not be up to par with the original iteration.

On the other hand, the city examples are fantastic. They're a great resource for creating and fleshing a city, or just to use in and of themselves to save some time.

I am a big fan of Magpie Games, so feel free to tale my review with a grain of salt.

Last Days of Anglekite is a fantastic adventure setting for Dungeon World, full of strange evocative monsters, NPCs, artifacts and locations. In fact, my main complaint is that there is too much going on in this book. Much more than I could fit into a single campaign.

As someone who plays a number of games besides Dungeon World, I would also say that this would be a great campaign for a number of fantasy campaigns. I could definitely see converting it to a certain 5th edition game that is all the rage, or Savage Worlds, or Fate.

Admittedly, the book does not give you a tactical level tour of the world - no town or city maps, for instance - but it does give you a city of demons and another of undead, pan-dimensional slavers, werewolves and vampires, and enough plots and motivations to understand how they all smash together to cause destruction only your heroes can stop.

Love playing this game. I feel it emulates the kind of vampire stories I adore. The mechanics help get through all the boring parts of tales like these with a lot of time in between with having each period you play in be after things get messed up in the fiction.

It's dice less mechanics feel very much in tone with the genre as well, as vampires always seem to plot and scheme for ages at a time in order to get what they want. And so will you, making tactical decisions about where you feed and where in order to climb your way up. Via politics or other brutal means, being aware of what your resources exactly are fits very well.

Then, after all is settled you slumber and shake things up again while you plot in the darkness.
Brilliant game and piece of design, in my opinion.

I am a huge fan of this game! Initially I was a bit hesitant but after checking out the mechanics, that was dispelled immediately. This is a perfect example of having mechanics that help the player into the theme but also the characters. This game tells you exactly how to play a young woman and it also comments on what societies perception of that is - both good and bad. It's a wonderful bit of design work and I had a great time playing it. The final version will most definitely get my money.

Masks is the most well-produced rpg text I have ever read. The rules are well laid out, the setting details are rich but not overwhelming, and the examples are clear and concise. I also love the art; it sets a tone for the game and it look great. The conditions system ties harm directly to the narrative without getting too complicated. It borrows from Apocalypse World and Monsterhearts, while innovating a few exciting ways. I can't recommend it enough.

After only two sessions, my group and I have had a blast. Having played virtually every kind of Powered by the Apocalypse, I found the theming to be well done. Though not on the level of Sagas of the Icelanders when it comes to encapsulating a setting and mood, it's worth the sale price I paid.
For fans of Teen Titans or Young Justice, this can be a fun 8-10 session campaign ruleset.

Urban Shadows is a grand attempt at making an urban fantasy / dark fantasy / World of Darkness game with the Powered By the Apocalypse engine. The social and political ties and consequences feel real and heavy. The enviroment (a dark, living city) also feels real, moving behind nearly every move and character. If you love Apocalypse World, Monster of the Week or Monster Hearts and want to take that game to the next level of complexity and political-maneuvering, this is the system for you.

All that being said, this game is very move-heavy. There are moves for every character, playbook moves for each different "class," story moves, and faction moves. The story moves a few and infrequent, but it's still a lot to remember and even muddle through, especially if your players are new to gaming or used to a game like Dungeon World or Monster Hearts. I would recommend this game if you are really into the Powered By the Apocalypse game engine, indie games, or dark fantasy titles. If you're looking for your FIRST PbtA or dark fantasy game, I would probably recommend Monster Hearts first.

Urban Shadows is a tremendously good vehicle for urban fantasy. It has mechanics that dribe the players and the NPCs together, focusing on interpersonal dynmaics rather than the sometimes minutia of barter and goods that can happen in the genre. It's highly quality, well written and includes tons of examples. There's a long play example to add even more clarity as well as the narrative examples sprinkled without. Very impressed with the quality and price point, love the game and hope to see more from the publisher. Loved finding a very active community for the game on G+, a very helpful resource in which the publisher responds very quickly.

I really wanted to like this game. As a fan of the good old World of Darkness and lover of drama and easy systems, I loved the idea of a quick and easy approach to those types of characters especially with some story balance included...but Cest la voie. The Vamp is the main thing I have a problem with but unfortunately as the iconic character type of the genre it is the crumbling corner stone that brings down the entire edifice for me. To sum it up the creators tried to make the game a deconstructionist metaphor for social interaction rather than a dramatic tale of monsters and monster hunters. The Vamp has almost no vampire abilities but lots of vague social manipulation abilities, no shape shifting, no mind control, no supernatural fortitude. Some of the other characters by contrast are perfect with gobs of iconic stuff Weakend by silver ect. Anyways. It ruined everything for me and I have no desire to play or run it as a result. I dont think this degree deconstructionism is a valid approach to rpgs or much for fiction. It is frequently taken too far and often ruins the gravitas of a story in fiction, and in RPGs.... Lets just say I wish I had my money back. "its a metaphor" is not sufficient excuse for why your game is running with a gaping hole in its tire. Other good aspects give it a 2 instead of a 1 but they are just not enough to warrent playing this little "experement".

In Epyllion, Marissa Kelly shows us how to play dragons in a lively and unique way. Every part of the setting teaches us important aspects of dragon culture. Every aspect of character creation lets us know more about the world she's crafted, and yet there is clearly room for interpretation. The whole thing has a bit of a Young Adult Fiction feel to it. The game begs to be played and I am looking forward to finding a clutch of raw-scaled gamers to jump into the world of Epyllion!

Being a Souls (Demon's Souls and Dark Souls 1-3) fan I had to purchase The Cold Ruins of Lastlife. The disclaimer is that the review from the perspective of an avid Souls fan.

The book is intereseting in that it actually captures the spirit of the Souls game, if not the mechanics. Lastlife is a bleak and forlorn setting set in a an age where the wonders of the past are long forgotten. The bonfire and respawn mechanic is handled through you slowly loosing yourself (much like the NPCs in the video games). Covenants are handled through conditional "prestige classes" with potentially hefty drawbacks to balance the advantages - I like it and will certainly try to make my own prestige classes in this manner.

All manner of fell and interesting beasts populate Lastlife, and they are well thought out. The enemies are grouped by themes which in turn is used by the GM to decide the "feel" of the game - be the monster-mashup, a war between old and new, etc... Easily used to make your world according to your personel version of the Souls games. Personally I like a world populated by ancient beings whose slow-moving plots allow a band of heroes a chance to attempt to restore hope.

I loved The Cold Ruins of Lastlife and will recommend it to anyone who loves the Soul series or like that particular aesthetics. I'm looking foreward to the coming products to Magpie Games.